Corpses piling up at Bali hospitals due to ban on cremations during Panca Wali Krama ceremonies

Sanglah Geneeral Hospital. Photo: Wikimedia Commons
Sanglah Geneeral Hospital. Photo: Wikimedia Commons

The Panca Wali Krama, a rare series of ceremonies that reportedly occurs only once in ten years, is well underway at Bali’s Mother Temple, Pura Besakih.

The Balinese say that the ceremonies are carried out in order to re-balance the natural environments of the island. And it seems that, with Mount Agung’s recent rumblings, the deluge of waste washing up on our shores, and the earthquakes that Bali and our neighboring island of Lombok have been experiencing, it’s long overdue.

But in order for spiritual energy to be focused on the matter at hand, ngaben (traditional Balinese cremation ceremonies) have been suspended until April 4, according to a report by Bali Post. And that is causing some issues at Bali’s hospitals.

Several of the island’s regional general hospitals (RSUD) have become inundated with dead bodies. According to an article in Nusa Bali, the morgue at Tabanan Hospital is already full. “The maximum capacity in the mortuary is 6, because there are 6 freezers, but now there are 11 [bodies],” explained Gusti Nyoman Sadia Wirka, the head of the hospital’s mortuary.

Sanjiwani General Hospital in Gianyar and Sanglah Hospital in Denpasar are also quickly filling up, with around 75 percent of their spaces already occupied, according to an article by detiknews.

Presumably, the ban has had a financial impact on the families of the deceased too, with body storage at these two hospitals ranging from IDR150,000 (US$10.63) per day for basic storage to IDR305,000 (US$21.61) for freezer space.

For the Balinese, ngaben offers an opportunity for the soul of the deceased to be released into the ‘upper realm’ where it can wait to be reborn. And this philosophy coincides with one of the main reasons for the cremation ban; that the impure air during the huge ceremony would not allow for the soul to be freed as desired.

“In Bali, every time there is a big ceremony like the Krama Panca Wali, it is believed that if a person dies, his spirit cannot be freed because the environment is not yet clean. After the Besakih ceremony, the air of sanctity can be guaranteed,” explained Gusti Ngurah Sudiana, the chairman of the PHDI Hindu group, as quoted in detiknews.



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